The Real Dirt

[Sierra]

I was interested to see that there are others on here who have gardens, and some of you go beyond the usual "stick it in the ground and see if it will grow" stage.

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and our frost is well over for the year. Temperatures climbed to 95 degrees (36 celsius) on Thursday! The tomatoes are well on their way and stand about 3' tall. I decided against squash this year because the plants are too damn big but growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and various quick harvest things like radishes and carrots.

I have a rose garden that is my pride and joy as well which has a rainbow of various varieties. The first explosion of bloom is just about over, but they will bloom until October.

I saw elsewhere the nondescript is planting her seeds as well.

Does anyone else have a garden? What are you growing?

[Need2BOwned]

I plant a flower garden over spring. I have moonflowers and morning glories going up the posts on my front patio and I'll plant some wave petunias once this rain stops.

That's all it takes for me. Those plants take over and turn into Little Shop of Horrors if I don't keep up with them.

[Sierra]

I love moonflowers and morning glories, but they don't grow well here. We won't see rain again until probably November and those plants hate the extreme dryness.

[Need2BOwned]

I'll take some pics for you, Sierra. How's that?

[Sierra]

Ooooo! Yes!

Maybe a tasteful arrangement showing blue morning glories, white moonflowers and your own red bottom? Nice and patriotic.

[Need2BOwned]

lol!

Now we just need someone to volunteer to give me a red bottom.

[Dangerdevil]

We do have a garden in our place in Florida but mostly it's flowers - hydrangea, roses and the like.

[Sweetlust]

Ahh..gardening! I am not good at it, but I try my hand. My family does more with it. I tell them what I'd like to see and they get the job done. I handle the 'maintenance' end, trimming, watering, fertilizing...etc.

We have broccoli, cauliflower, runner beans, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers (sweet bell and habaneros), squash, herbs (basil, thyme, lavender, oregano, dill, rosemary), rhubarb, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries (mostly the birds beat us to the berries, but this year we have covered them, so hopefully, right?).

We have started some cucumber, more herbs. These are in our backyard.

The front, I prefer a cleaner look, but we do have azalea bushes, one rose bush, dogwood trees and more lavender. I'm trying to decide if I want to do more with the front, but not overpower the lawn. I think I'd like to try more exotic veggies. Depends on my 'workers'...and my time management...

[FuckingRotter]

I have a tiny strip of dirt in the yard that's mostly good for growing weeds.

[MissyMystery]

I just moved out on my own and finally I have space for a garden so im trying to start a garden for the first time....turns out my thumb's a little more brown than green lol

[Sierra]

I forgot to say anything about my herb garden!!

I have flat-leaved parsley, thyme, rosemary, and basil. I used to grow mint and dill but they started taking over. Little Shop of Horrors, indeed!

[Need2BOwned]

Mint will do that, Sierra! Didn't know dill did, though. I'll keep that in mind if I ever plant an herb garden.

[jwham]

Originally Posted by Sierra

I forgot to say anything about my herb garden!!!

I have a little herbal garden, does that count?

[buttfreak]

Originally Posted by Sierra

I forgot to say anything about my herb garden!!

I have flat-leaved parsley, thyme, rosemary, and basil. I used to grow mint and dill but they started taking over. Little Shop of Horrors, indeed!

Mint will always come back & the more they do the more they spread.

[LIDM99810]

I can't garden tho id like too grow my own vegeatables and herbs. I'm the kind that kills plants just by looking at them. I think I water them too much. Every house sit I've done I killed the garden.

[LIDM99810]

What id love, is a flower graden, all sorts suited to this climate, esp old english stuff, combined with native flowering plants. I love flowers.

[buttfreak]

Originally Posted by LIDM99810

What id love, is a flower graden, all sorts suited to this climate, esp old english stuff, combined with native flowering plants. I love flowers.

What I have tried before that worked & is easy for starters is get some wild flowers.Especially if don't have allergies, wild flowers are easy to grow, then when you get the hang on having them, start with something else.I mean like with seeds in early spring.

[pervipete]

I can kill of plastic flowers ha ha

[nondescript29]

My watermelons are doing a whole lot of not shit and I don't completely understand why. I googled "watermelons aren't growing" and figured out that apparently their notoriously difficult to grow here. It's been mid eighties and sunny and humid and they were starting to look a little better but they haven't even completely vined out yet.

Also all of the seed I got this year is all organic, non genetically modified heirloom stuff. I started everything indoors and due to the wacky spring with extremely late frost, I wasn't able to get it all in the ground until mid-late May. Whatever. So a girlfriend had a zucchini plant she'd bought and wasn't going to use and even though it wasn't organic I decided to take it because I really hate throwing away plants. And this motherfucker is taking over everything. I've lost a bean plant I think to aphids though nothing else seems to have been much affected. This fucking zucchini is like flopping all over all my other plants (I keep trimming him off on one side so my pepper will actually get some sun).

I'm frustrated.

And for some reason the daisies I got keep dying. It's weird. Like they're not getting enought water even though other shit around them are doing fine.

[Sierra]

I love zucchini and it grows like crazy here but I had the same experience - lovely productive zucchini crowding out everything else. I ended up making a small raised bed just for the zucchini about ten feet away from everything else which solved the problem.

In my area watermelon grows well but it's not worth the trouble. The organic farmers grow them on huge plots of land and sell them relatively cheaply. I tried it one year but they take up way too much real estate and water for too small a reward, and they sulked until I hit them with Miracle-Gro. I no longer use synthetic fertilizers so I will buy my melons at the farmer's market.

All my tomato plants are producing large numbers except the cherry tomato on the deck. This was an experiment, putting a tomato in a half-barrel, but although it's producing something I'm getting less than half my usual number at this time of year. The cucumbers are running rampant. I tried a new variety this year the jury's still out on the flavor but I can't moan about the yield. The early peas have given way to beans, which are not only yummy they are pretty. First time I have grown beans but they were a rousing success. Too early for the peppers yet, but this weekend's heat wave should give them a boost.

All the greens did well up until now. The heat bolted them all so they'll go to the compost pile when the temperature drops below 100 outside. I also pulled the onions. If I had left them in the ground through this heat they would be so strong I couldn't use them in salad. Luckily they store well.

I didn't plant any annual flowers this year. I'm not sure why - I just didn't feel like it.